Minnesota will be short nearly 850 primary care physicians by 2024, according to a study conducted by Towers Watson for the Minnesota Hospital Association.
"The current pipeline of graduates barely appears adequate to replace retirements as they occur," the report states. "That, coupled with projected increases in demand because of an aging population, will result in a significant talent gap for physicians." The lack of growth in the state's graduate medical education programs is the main contributor to this projected shortage.
"I hope this new information will provide an impetus to policymakers to make the urgent decisions needed on both the state and federal levels to give our health professional students access to the clinical training and residency experience they need to become licensed to practice," said Lawrence J. Massa, president and CEO of MHA, in a news release.
The MHA plans to urge lawmakers at the state and federal levels to do the following five things to combat the provider shortage:
• Lift the freeze on the number of residency positions funded by Medicare
• Oppose cuts to federal graduate medical education funding
• Develop a statewide healthcare workforce plan
• Find ways to increase funding for the state's Medical Education Research Costs program
• Support development of new care delivery models, like increased use of telemedicine
More Articles on the Physician Shortage:
5 Tips to Prevent Physician Burnout
Physician Use of PAs on the Rise
US Needs 52,000 Primary Care Physicians by 2025